Empress of the Deep - The Darkest Secret

by Lila
(Download-Free-Computer-Games.com)

Empress of the Deep - The Darkest Secret

Empress of the Deep - The Darkest Secret is an impressive game, and perhaps we should welcome it and a handful of other games as pioneers to a new casual game phenomenon - the start of a new class of game. The category HOG no longer applies on its own. This game is a beautiful blend of HOG, puzzle, mini-game, brain-teaser and adventure all rolled into one.

Anna has been 'sleeping' for over a century in an underwater hideaway called the Ark of Humanity. All who communicate with her are long-dead holograms, and she alone must face the coming trials. She doesn't know who she is or what she's doing there, but slowly reveals this in the gorgeous scenes she moves through. Above this temple, an evil empress oppresses the people, and somehow Anna is the key to their liberation.

She must first escape the underwater tomb and find out the truth about herself.

You get to move through scenes that are gorgeous, with a dreamlike quality that is magnified by the ghostly voices, and the long-dead mysteries that are revealed. The story is intriguing, and while some may say that it's predictable, I enjoyed everything about it. Not everything in life is about being surprised along the way, but maybe as you get older, you realize how history and movies and stories pretty much repeat themselves.

The HO portions and the games and puzzles are a good blend of easier to more difficult. Luckily, there are helpful hints that move you along. The objects you find in the HO portions are useful for other parts of the game, which is a nice link to other scenes and the storyline.

One player mentioned, very aptly so, that the game reminded them of Myst, with its haunting beauty and the feeling of being alone in a vast, enigmatic world.

The Empress of the Deep - The Darkest Secret is a magical game with a Zen-like quality that everyone will agree is entrancing. There are enough varied games and puzzles in this hybrid hidden object game to satisfy everyone.